What would you do if you were obscenely wealthy? And before you start the whole, “Money doesn’t matter” trip, just humor us here. How would you spend your money? Would you invest it? Would you buy that car you’ve always wanted? Would you buy a mansion just for your dog? Would you end world hunger, or just give it all away?
Now that you’re thinking about it, take a step back and make an observation: Are you smiling? Do you feel happy? Can you feel your heart beating a little faster?
Exactly. Money does matter, and more often than not, the question is less about what we’d do if we had it, and more about how we should go about getting all of it. Luckily, sometimes, people in the know don’t mind sharing that information with us peasants. Here are 8 books that’ll help you earn your first million:
The Intelligent Investor
Benjamin Graham
Ben Graham, one of history’s most influential economists and considered by many to be the greatest investment adviser of the 20th century, wrote The Intelligent Investor in 1949, and it’s still regarded as the definitive book on strategic investing. If you’re looking for a place to get started, The Intelligent Investor is considered the stock market Bible. $14
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius
Joel Greenblatt
The American Dream is still alive and well on the stock market. If you have the brains, know how, and startup capital to get involved, you can make an immeasurable amount of money there. Joel Greenblatt is one of those dudes who just gets it. His portfolio averages a return of over 50 percent a year, and has done so for over a decade. You Can Be a Stock Market Genius is his guide to doing well in the market. Information, tools, resources, etc.—this is a tell-all, one-stop-shop guide by one of the industry’s best. $10
Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy
Bruce C. Greenwald and Judd Kahn
If you’re not looking to make money in the stock market or through targeted investments, and would rather put your ideas to work for you, Competition Demystified by Bruce Greenwald should be considered essential reading. Greenwald is one of the most highly regarded business educators of all time, and is frequently referred to as “a guru to Wall Street’s gurus.” Basically, this guy’s word is as good as Gospel. Competition Demystified is a crash course in the science of market analysis and the psychology of competition, presented in a way that, while technical, is also easily digestible. $16
Zero to One
Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel is a richer-than-God venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal and was one of the early investors in Facebook. His book, Zero to One, explores the ideas of inventiveness, progress, and the very real existence of completely unchartered territory in the technological world. It’s an optimistic look at the future of progress, and aims to provide readers with a rudimentary analysis of entrepreneurial pursuit and how to identify “big” ideas. $16
The Essays of Warren Buffet: Lessons for Corporate America
Warren Buffet
When people discuss the world’s wealthy, Warren Buffet’s name will come up 100% of the time. Aside from being one of history’s most charismatic billionaires, Buffet is truly one of the few men the world turns to when it needs some good financial advice. After all, just one share of Berkshire Hathaway is valued at over $211,000. In the latest edition of The Essays of Warren Buffet (as with its predecessors) Buffet discusses his views on a world without him, the stock market, investing, and his experiences running Berkshire Hathaway for the last 50 years. At the very least, it’s an intriguing look into the mind of one of the world’s greatest and most revolutionary wealthy people. $22
Common Stocks & Uncommon Profits
Philip A Fisher and Kenneth L Fisher
Another investment classic, Common Stocks & Uncommon Profits was first released in 1958 by Philip Fisher, a man considered to be one of the most astute businessmen and investors of all time. Common Stocks & Uncommon Profits lays the groundwork and explains the fundamentals of business and learning the techniques that will enable one to make equitable investment decisions. Aside from being one of the hands-down greatest inventors of all time, Fisher was low key, pragmatic, and strategic in his investments—this book outlines that exact investment strategy. $15
I Will Teach You To Be Rich
Ramit Sethi
Probably the most click-baity title we’ve ever seen, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, by personal finance adviser Ramit Sethi, is actually one of the best personal finance books in the history of personal finance books. The general theme of the book follows a 6-week personal finance program for anyone between the ages of 20-35 (millennials). The book is lauded for its practical approach, and Sethi touches on everything—banking, investing, saving and budgeting, and even touches on entrepreneurship. Even beyond the six-week program, this information is exceptionally useful. $8
How Rich People Think
Steve Siebold
The problem with books in this particular genre is that a lot of them are at least somewhat disingenuous. They tell us how to think like wealthy people, or use subjective, anecdotal rhetoric to con us into the whole “Change your wealth by changing your mindset” school of thought.
And at first glance, How Rich People Think, written by self-made multi-millionaire Steve Siebold, seems no different. Really though, Siebold’s advice and compare-contrast scenarios between the thought process of the average middle class Joe and his supremely wealthy counterpart is insightful, if not even a little damning. Siebold isn’t exactly the most politically correct finance writer we’ve ever encountered, but his advice comes from a good place. We’re coining it “tough love financial advice from a guy with a metric shit-tonne of cash.” $14
